James Crabtree discusses how the team at Equine Reproductive Services have taken charge of their recycling...
For a number of years, we had been running weekly, sometimes daily, trips to the local recycling centre with our plastic wrapping, bottles, cans and glass. Limited cardboard was taken away by one of the drug companies daily but much went into commercial waste and was not recycled.
We also noticed that without the proper protocols in place, plastics and other recyclable items were ending up in the main rubbish bin.
We have one member of staff who is now the recycling manager. She is responsible for checking and emptying all the labelled recycle bins placed at various stations in and around the practice.
The practice has purchased a baling machine which bales all of their clean plastic wrapping and cardboard. This is then taken away for bulk recycling.
Our plastic waste mainly consists of the wrapping from the bails of shavings used for bedding, feed bags, plastic covers from syringes and needles along with the sterilising pockets and padding/packing from other companies’ deliveries.
IV fluid bags are also collected and stored, preventing these from going to landfill.
Another local equine practice is aware of what we are doing and have expressed interest in bringing their card and plastic recycling to us which is great. We are working together to identify and process plastic and cardboard waste.
Whilst it is very much still a work in progress, the team are getting better at putting the right items in the right bins, and they now only do a weekly run to the local recycling centre with any glass, empty coffee pods and drinks cans.